Bob's Story

A cat with a small name and a big personality…

Bob came to Axhayes on 26 March after being handed into St Davids veterinary surgery by a member of the public. He was straying in Exeter and had some obvious injuries that needed to be treated by a vet.

Bob resting his weary paws

He had lots of scratches, a broken tooth, an abscess on the front of his leg and weepy eyes. He wasn’t neutered or microchipped so we couldn’t trace an owner for him.

No one reported him missing so Bob was kept in our care until he was medically ready to be adopted. Bob received antibiotics for his wounds and cream for his eyes. He also had to be neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and treated for fleas & worms.

Bob really made himself at home and was soon making friends with all the staff. He craved attention so much that as soon as you opened his pen door, he would climb out and cuddle you or jump on the floor and climb up your legs until he was picked up.

Bob and I enjoying a cuddle

He was so hungry and ate all of his meals in record time without stopping and would look up at the cat care assistants with his chubby cheeks and sad eyes to see if he could get an extra portion. The way to Bob’s heart was definitely via his stomach and although he had problems with his eyes, his hearing was excellent. He could detect the sound of a rustling packet of treats very well and would always be ready to comply with whatever was asked of him for a tasty snack.   

When he was examined by our vet, it became clear that Bob’s eyes were weeping for a reason. He was diagnosed with Entropion of both eyes. This is when the lower lid folds inward. It is very uncomfortable as the eyelashes constantly rub against the cornea and irritate it. Surgery is needed to correct the problem but if left untreated, the trauma caused to the eye means it may need to be removed. Luckily for Bob, he was in the care of Cats Protection and we were able to provide him with the treatment he needed.

Bob became available for adoption at the end of last week and got lots of attention from visitors to the centre over the weekend.

He is such a friendly, chatty, cuddly cat that we knew he wouldn’t be short of admirers.  He soon won over his new owners who met him on Sunday and came to collect him yesterday.

We wish Bob and his new family a very happy life together and hope they will send us some photos of him when he has settled into his new home.

We will miss Bob, a very charming cat!

Bob with his cute smile on adoption day

One of the reasons, we do the job we do is to help cats like Bob who have no one to care for them and as a charity we rely on donations to fund the medical treatment that they need.

Some of the cat care assistants have decided to do a Tandem Skydive later this year to raise money for our centre so that we can continue to care for cats in need like Bob.

“Puss in Chutes” will be taking place on 6 October.  We’d really love you to sponsor us or if you want to join in with the jump, you can raise your own sponsor money.  For further information, please click on this link to the events section of our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/160076540823650/

Meet our wonderful black cats!

We’ve had a busy weekend here at Axhayes, we managed to rehome eleven cats. Our annual open day is only a week away… we have lots of gorgeous black cats just waiting for someone to take them home! All of them are friendly, affectionate and have great personalities! Please join us here at Axhayes adoption centre on Sunday 19^th May for our open day and meet some of our wonderful cats here at the centre…

Pew and Pete (8 month old male black kittens)

Pete and his brother Pew are a friendly, playful, wonderful pair of kittens who were born here in September and have been overlooked ever since. It is heart breaking that he has spent all his young life in a pen; we are desperate to find a loving home for him. Please make Pete's dreams come true and take him home today!

Merlin (12 year old male black cat)

Merlin is a very sweet boy looking for someone to show him all the nice things he's been missing out on. His owner brought him in when she thought that he wanted more than the indoor flat he's been used to. We are sure Merlin would love a nice garden and the freedom to do what he wants to do. If you think you can spoil this beaut rotten then please take him home today!

Ella (5 year old female black cat)

Ella is a lovely chatty cat who is very charismatic. She is very friendly, so much so that she wants all the attention to herself and not share it with another cat, so needs to be the only cat in the home. She would make a wonderful companion. This is Ella's third time at Axhayes - she really has been an unlucky black cat! Please make this Ella's 'third time lucky' and adopt her today!

Oscar (8 year old male black cat)

Oscar is a lovely cat who was passed onto us after being taken into a vets as a stray. It transpired that he was microchipped and had been missing for 4 years. Unfortunately his owner could not offer him a home again as their circumstances had changed. He is now looking for a new forever home where he can enjoy a few home comforts once again.

Juno and Joseph (8 and 9 year old male black cats)

A family break up means these chaps need to find a new home. They are good all-rounders, having lived with other cats, dogs and children. They are affectionate and playful, and would love a home with lots of space to explore. Please take them home!

 

Sahara and Kalahari (1 year old female and male black cats)

We don’t know how these cats came to be found in a nice man garden all lost and alone. They are so friendly we are sure they must have had a home at one point, they have been looked after and cared for. If you are looking for some great little cats to brighten up your home please say hello to the deserts.

Etcha (4 year old female black cat)

When Etcha’s owner became ill, there was no one to care of her, so she was brought here. While she’s been in our care we have found her to be a very affectionate cat. She is very sweet and loves attention. She will make a lovely companion for someone. Can you offer her the new home she deserves?

Please visit our website at www.axhayes.cats.org.uk for more information about any of our cats.

Open Day 2013!

PLEASE HELP OUR SPRING OPEN DAY!

We are looking for volunteers to help out at our Open Day!

On Sunday 19th May is our annual Open day, this year is extra special as it’s our adoption centre’s 25th Anniversary! Our centre has seen many thousands of cats through its doors and we are very proud to still be able to rescue and rehome hundreds of cats and kittens each year.

We are looking for volunteers to help on the day to either help run a stall or to organise the car parking. If you could spare an hour or two of your time, we’d be very grateful. If you are unable to attend, perhaps you could help by baking a cake or two, or if you love gardening, maybe you could spare us some cuttings to sell. We’ll also need plenty of prizes for raffles and for the auction, so any good-quality items you could donate would be very much appreciated.

If you are able to help us, please call Phil on 01395 232377. Thank you for your support. We look forward to hearing from you and hope to see you on the day :)

Puss in Chutes! - Exeter Axhayes Charity Skydive.

We will be doing a Charity skydive on the 6th October 2013 at 2pm at Dunkerswell airfield. We are raising some much needed funds for our cats and kittens at our adoption centre.

All of the money raised from this fundraising event will go straight to helping cats and kittens at Exeter Axhayes. At Cats Protection we rely entirely on the generosity of cat-loving people like you to help fund our vital welfare work.

The money will help us care for cats like Unicorn who was rescued with her eight kittens from under a dual carriageway bridge. All of her eight kittens have found homes. She is being cared for by our CCAs and she is now waiting for someone to take her home and love her forever.

£3 - can help to pay for vital supplies such as food and vaccinations
£5 - could contribute towards a kitten's initial health check with a vet
£10 - can help pay for urgent veterinary care and life-saving medicines
£10 - can help pay to microchip a cat or kitten
£15 - can feed one abandoned cat or kitten every month
£20 - can pay for one cat to be neutered

On average, it costs around £198 to neuter, microchip and rehome a cat from our adoption centre. This figure is based on a stay of one month. However, because Cats Protection never puts a healthy cat to sleep, cats stay with us until they are found loving new homes regardless of how long that takes!

Please sponsor our Charity skydive by visiting our justgiving page

http://www.justgiving.com/Axhayes-Skydive or by texting PURR50 and the amount to 70070.

If you would like to jump with us or just help by donating money you can either contact Therese on 01395 232377. Anyone who would like to help us fundraise or have any ideas that could help please contact Therese on above number. From all of the cats at Exeter Axhayes, Thank you for your support! :)

Success Story - Marmy

Some of our volunteers may remember our big ginger boy Marmy. He was one of our strays who came into us early last year; he luckily found a home in February 2012. During his time at the centre, he was a typical young active male who was desperate to get out and about. We were pleased he found a home so quickly.

We have received an update on his progress and some fantastic photos we wanted to share online. Here are some photos of Marmy enjoying climbing in his favourite tree, he prefers to scratch the stair treads instead of his scratching pole and enjoys a snooze upstairs on the bed. His owners have told us he’s settled in well and is very sociable with every visitor that they’ve had. We would to thank his owners for these brilliant photos.

If you would like to share any of your photos, please get in touch with us via facebook or our website.

Our New Feral Garden!



The Site





A big part of our work at Cats Proection is helping with situations involving feral cats.  Ferals are cats which have been born in the wild and haven't been socialised to people or domestic environments.  They are the same species as our pets and are equally protected by law. 

We desperately needed a feral garden to give these cats more space while finding them permanent homes.

The Orchard Fencing Team 18/4/13

We frequently deal with situations where the feral population in an area has become unmanageable.  We humanely trap the cats, vet-check, vaccinate and neuter them and either release them to where they were living, or find new homes for them. 

Men at Work!

Rehoming feral cats can be difficult because we need to find them homes on farms, at stables, or similiar environments where they will be safe, fed and watched-over. 

The enclosure takes shape, 3/4/13

While the cats are at Axhayes waiting to be released or found homes, being in one of our pens which are fine for domestic cats is very stressful for them as these cats are used to being outside living wild. We really needed somewhere for them to be housed appropriately in the meantime. 

It's a big space!

To raise money for the project, staff and supporters of Axhayes took part in a Firewalk in Octoer 2011, and now work is in progress on our feral garden!

The feral garden will have shelter, a unit for us to use to maintain it, long grass areas, places to hide and feeding and activity areas.

We will keep you updated with progress!

If you can give a feral cat a home, please contact us on 01395 232377.

Update - April 30th

Bad weather meant that work was interrupted for a few days, but now the gates are on and the surface on which the  buildings will stand has been prepared.  Once the shelters are in place we will plant cat-friendly shrubs and add little shelters, hidy-holes and activity centres.  It won't be long before we have a lovely area for our feral cats!

Update - May 4th

The buildings have gone up and we'll be up and running soon!

Success Story - Waggledance and Puddleduck

You may remember Waggle dance and Puddle duck who came into Axhayes back in May 2012 after their mother was forced to give birth to them on the streets. Their mother and brother quickly found homes, leaving these two behind. It’s always difficult for two black kittens to find a home, so they spent many months with us. At the beginning of this year, their luck finally came their way and they found a home together.

We were delighted to receive an email from their owners last week letting us know how they are getting on. They have settled in really well and seem very happy indeed. They have been outside exploring, playing lots and relaxing afterwards. They are looking very smart and grown up in their photos. It’s always great to hear stories about our cats and kittens, if you have adopted any of our cats, we'd love to hear how they are getting on.  

We currently have two pairs of black kittens looking for homes, if you would like to give Pretzel & Petal or Pew & Pete a home, please visit our website www.axhayes.cats.org.uk for more information, thank you.